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Where's the Run Box?

by
Mitch Tulloch
[Published on 14 June 2006 / Last Updated on 14 June 2006]

How to quickly run programs in Vista.

Getting used to a new version of Windows can be a headache. In particular, I'm used to starting many programs from the Run box, which in Windows XP is accessed by Start --> Run. So where's the Run box in Vista?

Well, first off, you can simply type the program you want to run in the Start Search box on the bottom of the Start menu. For example, to run Notepad you could do any of the following:

- Click the Start button and type notepad and press ENTER

- Press CTRL+ESC and type notepad and press ENTER

- Press the WINDOWS key and type notepad and press ENTER

You can also try pressing the Windows key and typing only n and then pressing ENTER, and this should work since Windows guesses that you want to run a common program that begins with N.

Or you can get the old fashioned Run box back by pressing WINDOWS+R

See? Vista's different but it ain't so hard after all ;-)

Cheers, Mitch Tulloch, MVP

Note: This tip is based on a pre-release version of Windows Vista and may not reflect functionality in the final product.

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